Stay awake! And I am not talking about the homily. We are speaking about
the Lord Jesus, who wants us to be alert and to be aware that salvation is
in our midst, now and always. Stay awake! It is so easy to miss the
beauty of the Lord in every moment of our lives. Stay awake because the
Lord promises to be with us now and always. We are beginning this
wonderful preparation for Christmas. We begin Advent, the waiting and the
longing for the coming of the Lord.

Isaiah, in our first reading today, has incredible images. We have to
think of Jerusalem and then think of the mountain of the Lord. Mount
Zion—it is really just a hill in Jerusalem—is the center of the earth
because it is where God dwells. God is calling all men and women, all
nations and peoples, to come and follow His way of life: living in the
divine love and rejoicing in the gifts of God. The greatest gift of all is
the gift of Jesus as our Savior. This Advent is the time to prepare once
more to celebration Jesus in the flesh.

In order to understand this enormous mystery, we have to understand a bit
of its history, starting with creation and the formation of the Jewish
people, the chosen people, who are the delight of God. We can take some
time in Advent to think about the incredible history of salvation, all
pointing to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The images of Isaiah all
invite us to walk in the light of the Lord.

That light is to be found in the Scriptures, in creation itself, in the
Church (even with all of its sinfulness) and in one another. Only if we
have eyes of faith will we begin to see the light of the Lord.

The Letter to the Romans also speaks about living in the light and throwing
off all that leaves us in darkness. Easier said than done, but it is the
work of our whole life. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision
for the desires of the flesh. As we walk through this Advent, striving to
live in light, we can keep our hearts and our minds fixed on the love that
God has for us. This is the only way to make no provision for the desires
of the flesh. Dwell in His love. Be aware of His love. Delight in His
love.

The Gospel tells us to be ready. God can come to us at any times. For you
do not know on which day your Lord will come. This is not meant to
frighten us in any bad way, but to help us remain alert and waiting for the
Lord at every moment. What a different life we have when we are looking
for the Lord in everything that happens to us and in all that we do! Let
us walk in the light of the Lord! What joy we can have and what rejoicing
with one another in the Lord.